The end of the cable crisis thanks to CAN

The acronym CAN stands for Controller Area Network and refers to a serial bus system, i.e. a system in which data is transmitted between several participants via a common path. The maximum transmission speed for the (high-speed) CAN bus is 1 Mbit/s, but it also depends on parameters such as the cable length and bus load.

The purpose of the system, developed by Bosch in 1983, is to reduce the number of wiring harnesses in vehicles โ€“ as these were previously up to 2 kilometers long.

The CAN bus in the vehicle

As cars produce more and more data, the focus is increasingly on electronics. To ensure that the electronic devices in vehicles can work together without problems, they need a standardized communication or platform. This is ensured by the CAN bus.

The electronic devices include sensors and control units. There can be up to 50 of the latter in modern luxury cars. Each of these is connected to the bus via a CAN interface and checks the data for content and priority. If several control units attempt to send information at the same time, the message with the highest priority is sent first and the others follow in descending order of priority. Thanks to so-called โ€œidentifiersโ€, the information is then processed by the correct device.

Advantages of using the CAN bus:

  • Less cabling required
  • More economical and simpler realization of cross-controller communication, for example with ESP
  • Clear detection of faults and interruptions thanks to high transmission reliability

Mini PCs in the vehicle

Our range of mini PCs also includes several models that are designed for a wide variety of in-vehicle applications. These include the MOVE series and the RUGGED series, which recently welcomed a new mini PC โ€“ the RUGGED Ryzen. All models can be optionally equipped with a CAN bus module to meet the scenario described above.

We have summarized more about vehicle PCs, what distinguishes them and where they can be used in another article.

Click here for our vehicle PCs

How do vehicle PCs work?

A mini PC that is suitable for use in vehicles is characterized by various factors. On the one hand, vehicle PCs should not have any moving parts so that they can withstand shock and vibrations without any problems. They are therefore cooled passively, i.e. without a fan, and ideally an SSD is installed instead of an HDD. The robust design and completely sealed housing also protect against dust and moisture. In order for the in-vehicle PC to withstand the voltage peaks when starting the engine, it requires a wide range current input of 9-36 volts, sometimes even up to 48 volts. A compact design is also an advantage, as space in vehicles is limited. Mini PCs are therefore always the first choice. An extended temperature range is also important, as vehicle PCs are used virtually outdoors and should therefore be able to withstand sub-zero temperatures and heat.

Depending on the area of application, vehicle PCs can also be equipped with extensions. These include GPS and 3G or 4G modules. Some even have two SIM card slots, which significantly improves accessibility in the mobile network. If you want to prevent the PC from suddenly switching off, for example if the motor stalls, you can get a battery pack that supplies the PC with power for a further 10 minutes and thus prevents data loss.

Where are vehicle PCs used?

The areas of application for vehicle PCs are diverse. One example is emergency vehicles such as ambulances, police cars or customs vehicles. Mobile operations centers and mobile monitoring platforms can also be equipped with vehicle-compatible mini PCs. Vehicle PCs are also in demand in vehicle development. These can, for example, monitor, measure and check driving processes in prototypes. Vehicle PCs with enormous computing power are required for the autonomous driving sub-sector. Images from several cameras and measurement results from various sensors have to be evaluated and processed using artificial intelligence and deep learning. Another area of application is digital signage and infotainment. Screens with news, weather forecasts and advertising are no longer a rarity in buses, trains, subway trains and even cabs.

Which vehicle PCs does spo-comm offer?

Everyone will find the right product for their specific vehicle application in the spo-comm range. The vehicle PCs include the models in the MOVE series: the MOVE N3160 and, for those who need a little more power, the MOVE QM87. The newer models in the RUGGED series are also suitable for use in vehicles: The RUGGED Q170, the AMD-based RUGGED Ryzen and our graphics wonder RUGGED GTX1060 Ti, which is equipped with an NVIDIA Geforce graphics card and also enables multi-monitor applications.

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Goodbye Thunderbolt 3, hello USB 4

The USB Promoter Group recently announced the new USB 4 standard. This is based on Thunderbolt 3 and enables sensational data transfer rates of up to 40 GBit/s, which is twice as much as the current version USB 3.2 Gen2x2. The background: Intel is submitting its Thunderbolt specification to the USB-IF (Universal Serial Bus Implementers Forum). This will enable manufacturers to produce suitable chips in the future without having to pay the license fees required for Thunderbolt. What is also certain so far is that USB Type C is required in any case โ€“ but the new connection can also transmit DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI signals and charge devices with up to 100 watts. It is not yet clear when the first devices with USB 4 will be developed. Perhaps with Intelโ€™s new Ice Lake CPU generation, which is due to arrive at the end of 2019.

Sources: golem.de, heise online, GameStar.

10 times as fast: the new 5G standard

The new 5G mobile communications standard was one of the major topics at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona at the end of February. Samsung, Huawei, LG and other manufacturers have already presented smartphones that support 5G. But what is the current status? The 5G standard is the successor to 4G/LTE and builds on it. With data rates of up to 20 Gbit/s, 10 times the LTE speed can be achieved. In Germany, the first mobile networks are due to be available from 2020, but the initial priority for expansion is to provide access to outlying towns and villages that do not yet have a mobile network. Faster mobile communication is less important for now. The expansion in Germany is further complicated by the fact that the auction of 5G frequencies has been delayed. Due to the strict coverage requirements, the major mobile network providers Telefรณnica, Vodafone and Telekom have requested that the auction be stopped for the time being.

Sources: golem.de, heise online. informationszentrum-mobilfunk.de also explains the three different application areas of the 5G network. 

Embedded World and Internet World: spo-comm on a trade fair visit

In the last few weeks, two exciting trade fairs have taken place in our area, which we naturally didnโ€™t want to miss. At the end of February, several colleagues from Sales, Marketing and Technology visited Embedded World in Nuremberg. There we learned about the latest trends in the industry and met some of our customers and partners.

In mid-March, our marketing team went to the Internet World Expo in Munich. We took advantage of the extensive range of presentations and listened to great speakers on topics such as SEO, SEA, UX and content marketing. We were able to take away many new ideas and suggestions and will certainly be implementing some of them in the coming weeks.

Fake faces non-stop: the possibilities of AI

Finally, a topic that shows the exciting possibilities of artificial intelligence and fascinated us greatly: the website ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com. With each update, it shows a new face that has been artificially created using AI, but looks so realistic that it cannot be distinguished from a real photo. The algorithm used here utilizes a so-called GAN (generative adversarial network), which creates new artificial examples from a large data set of real images. The StyleGAN algorithm was developed by NVIDIA and released as open source last year.

Source: The Verge.

Our spo-comm Mini-PCs

Vulkan is a programming interface (API) with a focus on 2D and 3D graphics. As it was planned as the successor to OpenGL, the API was initially called Next Generation OpenGL or glNext. As a so-called low-level API or low-overhead API, Vulkan enables programming that is closer to the hardware than DirectX, for example, and gives developers direct access and thus more control over the graphics unit. In addition, the work can be better distributed across the various CPU cores. All this increases computing power and efficiency while reducing the number of drivers and driver overhead.

Good to know: What is DirectX?

How was Vulkan developed?

Vulkan was developed by the Khronos Group. It is based on AMDโ€™s low-level API Mantle, i.e. it was built on Mantle components. AMD had donated its API to the Khronos Group. This gave them a basis for developing their own low-level API, which could then be used as a cross-platform standard for the entire industry. Vulkan was first announced at the GDC in 2015 and was released in February 2016. The current version is 1.1.101 and dates from February 2019.

Who can use Vulkan?

Vulkan is open source and cross-platform and is supported by all major hardware manufacturers such as Intel, AMD and Nvidia. It is also compatible with various operating systems and can therefore be used on Windows, Linux, Android, macOS, iOS and others. As a result, Vulkan also runs on a wide range of devices such as PCs, consoles, smartphones and embedded platforms.

More information can be found at Techcrunch and golem.de.

Mantle is a programming interface (API) for graphic outputs. It was released in 2013 and was developed by AMD, originally together with the Swedish company Dice, whose PC game Battlefield 4 was the first game with Mantle. The API should be an alternative to OpenGL and Direct3D (= a part of DirectX).

Good to know: What is OpenGL?

What distinguishes Mantle from other graphics APIs?

Mantle is a so-called low-level API, i.e. a lean programming interface. โ€œLow-levelโ€ means that the API enables programming close to the system. Similar to programming on consoles, developers have more control and can use the existing hardware more effectively. This increases the performance of the CPU and graphics unit. In addition, the driver overhead (= data that is only required for transferring or saving and is not primarily used) and the memory requirement are reduced and multithreading is simplified. More information and a detailed test report can be found at golem.de.

Is Mantle cross-platform?

In part: Mantle supports the GPUs in the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but not the graphics chips from other PC hardware manufacturers such as Intel or Nvidia.

What does the future hold for Mantle?

Due to strong competition from other cross-platform APIs, AMD announced in March 2015 that it would no longer be developing Mantle. Instead, DirectX12 and Vulkan, which is based on Mantle, were recommended.

What does โ€œCUDAโ€ mean?

The term CUDA is the acronym for โ€œCompute Unified Device Architectureโ€.

What exactly is CUDA?

CUDA is an NVIDIA architecture for parallel computing. The additional use of the graphics processor increases the computing power of a PC.

In the past, OpenGL and DirectX were the only way to interact with GPUs, but these APIs were mainly suitable for multimedia applications. Calculations, on the other hand, were only performed on the CPU.

As graphics cards are ideal for computing-intensive, highly parallel processes, new operating systems (Windows 7 and upwards) now use GPUs not just for graphics calculations, but as a multi-purpose parallel processor that can be accessed by any application. Calculations now run in parallel on the CPU and the graphics processor, which increases performance enormously. NVIDIA CUDA supports this and enables simple and efficient parallel development. There are now thousands of applications, countless research reports and a large selection of CUDA tools and solutions.

What is a CUDA core?

CUDA cores or cores are usually regarded as equivalent to CPU cores. However, the CUDA cores are less complex and occur in much larger numbers. While the usual Intel CPUs have between 2 and 8 cores, the NVIDIA Quadro P1000, for example, which is installed in our mini PC of the same name, has 640 CUDA cores. High-end graphics cards, such as NVIDIAโ€™s Turing generation, often have over 4000 cores. This high number is necessary because many complex graphic calculations often have to be carried out simultaneously. However, since GPUs are specialized for this purpose, the cores are also much more specifically designed and therefore smaller than those of CPUs.

A detailed explanation of the topic can be found at Gamingscan. If you want to delve deeper into the topic and are interested in the exact difference between CUDA cores and CPU cores, you should watch the video โ€œWhy CUDA โ€˜Coresโ€™ Arenโ€™t Actually Coresโ€ by Gamers Nexus.

In which areas is CUDA used?

CUDA is used in a wide variety of areas. On the one hand in image and video processing, but also in the medical field, for example in CT image reconstructions. The fields of AI, deep learning and machine learning also often rely on CUDA, as sophisticated development environments are required here. Other topics include computational biology and chemistry, ray tracing, seismic analyses and much more.

What is the current version of CUDA?

Since CUDA was introduced in 2006, it has developed enormously. In October 2018, CUDA 10 was presented together with the introduction of the new Turing GPUs. More information about the new features can be found at heise.de and on the NVIDIA Developer Blog.

How is CUDA programmed?

When using CUDA, the programming languages C, C++, Fortran, Python and MATLAB can be used.

How can CUDA be used?

CUDA can be used under Windows, Linux and Mac OS, provided you have the right hardware. These are graphics cards from the NVIDIA GeForce, Quadro and Tesla series as well as NVDIA GRID solutions. An overview of CUDA-capable GPUs can be found at NVIDIA . The CUDA Toolkit can be easily downloaded from NVIDIA.

The term OpenGL is the abbreviation for โ€œOpen Graphics Libraryโ€ and describes a programming interface (API) for the development of 2D and 3D graphics applications. OpenGL is cross-platform and cross-programming language. As with DirectX, the API facilitates the development of graphics applications and software, as these only have to be adapted to the OpenGL standard and not to various operating systems and installed graphics hardware. The OpenGL standard describes around 250 commands, other organizations โ€“ such as manufacturers of graphics cards โ€“ can define proprietary (i.e. manufacturer-specific) extensions.

Good to know: What is DirectX?

Where is OpenGL used?

Applications in which OpenGL is used include computer games, virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D animations, CAD and other visual simulations.

How is OpenGL used?

OpenGL is supported by most common operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, macOS, Solaris, Linux, Android, Apple iOS, Xbox 360 and many more. The API has language bindings for the programming languages C, C++, Fortran, Ada and Java.

How did OpenGL come about?

OpenGL was published in 1992. Originally, the former PC manufacturer Silicon Graphics (SGI) developed the proprietary IRIS GL programming interface. After some time, the API was revised, the proprietary program code was removed and IRIS GL was published as the industry standard OpenGL. New functions were often initially introduced as manufacturer-specific extensions. Over time, they were then used across manufacturers and, ideally, subsequently introduced as new core functions. OpenGL has been continuously developed up to the current version 4.6. Since July 2006, the Khronos Group โ€“ an industry consortium including Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Apple and Google โ€“ has been responsible for the further development of OpenGL.

What does the future of OpenGL look like?

In March 2015, the Vulkan API was presented at the Game Developers Conference as the successor to OpenGL. The programming interface initially referred to as โ€œNext Generation OpenGLโ€ or โ€œglNextโ€ is open source and also cross-platform. The difference to OpenGL is that more focus is placed on the hardware during programming, which significantly increases the computing power. Some PC games already support Vulkan, but the majority rely on DirectX. Vulkan is also being developed by the Khronos Group.

It is important to note that a PC can only control as many monitors as it has multimedia interfaces. Depending on the type of ports, CPU and graphics card installed, the resolution of the content played may vary. Our spo-comm Mini-PCs are all equipped with at least two multimedia interfaces.

What is a duplicated screen?

A duplicated screen is โ€“ as the name suggests โ€“ a duplicated screen. This means that one and the same content can be seen on two displays. Mirroring on a television or projector is of course also possible.

How To: To duplicate a screen, a second screen must first be connected and set up next to the main screen. In the case of a Windows PC, press the โ€œWindowsโ€ and โ€œPโ€ key combination to open a menu in which you can now select the โ€œDuplicateโ€ option (see photo 2, second selection from the left).

What is the extended desktop?

The difference between the extended desktop and the duplicated screen is that the display is not duplicated in the former. You therefore see different content on each connected screen. The advantage is that extending the desktop creates more space for working or presenting content. For example, you can work actively on one of the connected screens, while the other only serves as a storage surface. However, the video walls used in the digital signage sector also rely on the extended desktop. However, as these tend to be controlled by more powerful graphics cards, you will find out more in another article that will be published soon.

How To: As with the duplicated screen, at least one additional screen must first be connected for the extended desktop. The key combination is also โ€œWindowsโ€ and โ€œPโ€, only you then select the โ€œAdvancedโ€ option in the display that appears. By selecting this option, Windows creates an empty desktop on the second screen, on which programs and windows can then be moved.

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DirectX is a programming interface or API (short for โ€œApplication Programming Interfaceโ€)  for multimedia applications and games under Windows and on the Xbox games console. It acts as a link between the hardware, the Windows operating system and the program you are using, usually games. As the hardware (such as graphics card, sound card, mouse) and computer games come from numerous different manufacturers, this standardized interface guarantees a smooth process and facilitates the development of new products. This is because game developers only have to observe the DirectX specifications instead of adapting their game to a number of graphics cards.

How did DirectX come about?

DirectX was originally developed for PC games. When Microsoft Windows became more and more widespread in the 1990s, there was a so-called WinAPI for applications, but no API for fast graphics and audio playback, as required for games. These were therefore often only developed for MS-DOS. After the success of the game โ€œDoomโ€, Microsoft also recognized the potential of PC games and began to develop its own programming interfaces for Windows 95. As a result, version 1.0 of DirectX was released, but it took until version 3.0 for DirectX to be taken seriously by game developers. Over the years, DirectX has been developed further and further, with the current version DirectX12 being introduced in 2014.

How is DirectX structured?

DirectX is used in the entire multimedia sector: for displaying graphics, playing audio, but also for input devices such as mice and joysticks. It consists of the following parts: DirectX Graphics enables access to the graphics card; DirectSound is responsible for the playback and recording of sound and has since been replaced by XAudio 2; DirectMusic enables the playback of music; DirectInput is the standard for input devices such as keyboard, mouse or a joystick, since Windows XP it has been replaced by XInput; DirectPlay is used for communication in multiplayer games and DirectShow for processing video and audio files.

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We love to maintain you: spo-comm IT-Monitoring

Solving a problem before it occurs and saving your customers avoidable downtime โ€“ a pipe dream? Soon no more. We are currently working hard on a monitoring solution that uses numerous sensors to monitor the entire hardware of our mini PCs. The first exclusive insights into the whole thing will be given at ISE 2019. More information will be available here soon.

Innovation and intelligence: Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2019 LTSC & SAC

In October 2018, Microsoft presented the new Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2019. This includes all function updates since version 2016. The previous CBB version, in which an update is made every six months, has been renamed Windows 10 IoT Enterprise SAC (Semi-Annual Channel). This version also includes various Windows system apps (such as Microsoft Edge, Cortana) and universal apps (such as Mail/Calendar, OneNote, Weather, Music, etc.). These are missing in the LTSC version (Long-Term Servicing Channel). As before, as the name suggests, only security updates will be made available for ten years and no function updates. The license and pricing model with the Entry, Value and High-End levels remains unchanged. A current processor list can be downloaded from Elbacom. More information about the innovative possibilities that Windows 10 IoT offers the industry can also be found on the Windows Blog.

New in the range: spo-comm on Ryzen

In our last news we already reported on the problems surrounding the current poor availability of Intel CPUs. A solution to the misery? Another manufacturer! spo-comm will be launching two Mini PCs with an AMD Ryzen V1807 CPU in the coming weeks. Our technicians are already raving about the processorโ€™s first-class performance, especially when it comes to graphics applications.

Know whatโ€™s inside: New housing for KUMO IV

As our popular KUMO IV has been given two additional USB 3.1 ports (one of them Type C) , we needed a new housing. In the course of this, we had various connections printed directly so that they can now be recognized and used correctly at first glance. And for all customers who use their KUMO in public places: A Kensington Lock now offers protection against theft.

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